Canadian Survey Reveals Younger Consumers are Using Alternative Payment Tools More

Canadian Prepaid Providers Organization (CPPO) second annual payments study reveals a movement towards alternative payment tools and away from traditional banking products for certain occasions and consumers. The study found that while 99 per cent of Canadians have a bank account there is a growing interest, especially amongst younger Canadians, to adopt alternative payment tools that they view as more convenient. Prepaid cards continue to grow in both usage and popularity. At the same time, 13 per cent of consumers are using bank accounts less.

The annual How Canadians Pay Today Survey of 1,006 Canadian consumers was conducted by Leger and commissioned by the Canadian Prepaid Providers Organization (CPPO), the voice of the rapidly growing prepaid payments industry in Canada. Prepaid cards issued by American Express, Mastercard and Visa reached $3.1 billion dollars in loads onto open-loop prepaid cards of all types in Canada in 2015.

“Canada has both a highly-banked population and many consumers with a strong willingness to try new financial services products,” said David Eason, CPPO co-founder and Chairman of the Board. “This year’s survey revealed that younger Canadians in particular are adopting emerging payment tools that are more convenient and secure. Prepaid cards topped the list as the fastest-growing payment product and boasted the highest level of satisfaction among payments tools.“